Thursday, September 03, 2015

More Bedside Listening

John Carter & Bobby Bradford Quartet: Flight for Four(Flying Dutchman) This album has been sitting on my "to listen to" pile and I finally got around to it. Mark Weber put me onto this quartet and I'm glad he did (Mark recently posted on John Carter here).

Sal Mosca: The Talk of the Town - Live at the Bimhaus (Sunnyside) This 2CD set of live solo piano from 1992 released earlier this year is an absolute gem. Wonderfully recorded, the album has a very intimate feel - it's almost as if you are a fly-on-the-wall in Sal's studio. Be on the lookout for more Mosca - I understand a box set is due out towards the end of the year. Hopefully these releases will bring more attention to a very underrated pianist.

Dizzy Gillespie: Perceptions(Verve) Earlier in the year I was checking out recordings associated with the Third Stream and I came across Perceptions. The music was written by J.J Johnson and Gunther Schuller conducts a brass ensemble, harps and rhythm section as they back Gillespie. The suite showcases the lyrical side of Dizzy's playing that many don't associate with him (myself included). I finally found a copy in August (at the Jazz Record Mart) and over the past month it has been getting some airtime.

Sonny Rollins: Rollins Meets Hawk!(RCA) I hadn't listened to this album for years and I have to say I've really enjoyed getting back into it. I first heard this album back in '99 when Norman Meehan played it to our jazz history class, not really for Sonny & Hawk, but for Paul Bley (check out Norm's book with Bley - Time Will Tell). Bley is outstanding and although I know people who don't really dig Rollins' here, I'm enjoying it. A bunch of live Rollins quartet recordings with Don Cherry are now available and I'm looking forward to checking them out (eventually!).

Thelonious Monk: Brillant Corners (Riverside) I have been learning a few of Monk's melodies and this was one of the recordings I listened to while working on "Pannonica." This may well be my favourite Monk album. Another album I hadn't listened to for ages and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Ernie Henry's contribution on alto.